An Integrated Model of Action Selection: Distinct Modes of Cortical Control of Striatal Decision Making

Posted: 18 Jan 2019

See all articles by Melissa Sharpe

Melissa Sharpe

Independent

Thomas Stalnaker

Princeton University

Nicolas W. Schuck

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Simon Killcross

University of New South Wales (UNSW)

Geoffrey Schoenbaum

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Yael Niv

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: January 2019

Abstract

Making decisions in environments with few choice options is easy. We select the action that results in the most valued outcome. Making decisions in more complex environments, where the same action can produce different outcomes in different conditions, is much harder. In such circumstances, we propose that accurate action selection relies on top-down control from the prelimbic and orbitofrontal cortices over striatal activity through distinct thalamostriatal circuits. We suggest that the prelimbic cortex exerts direct influence over medium spiny neurons in the dorsomedial striatum to represent the state space relevant to the current environment. Conversely, the orbitofrontal cortex is argued to track a subject's position within that state space, likely through modulation of cholinergic interneurons.

Suggested Citation

Sharpe, Melissa and Stalnaker, Thomas and Schuck, Nicolas W. and Killcross, Simon and Schoenbaum, Geoffrey and Niv, Yael, An Integrated Model of Action Selection: Distinct Modes of Cortical Control of Striatal Decision Making (January 2019). Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 70, pp. 53-76, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3318182 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102824

Thomas Stalnaker

Princeton University ( email )

22 Chambers Street
Princeton, NJ 08544-0708
United States

Nicolas W. Schuck

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Human Development ( email )

Lentzeallee 94
D-14195 Berlin, 14195
Germany

Simon Killcross

University of New South Wales (UNSW) ( email )

Kensington
High St
Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

Geoffrey Schoenbaum

National Institute on Drug Abuse ( email )

6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5274 - MSC 9581
Bethesda, MD 20892-9581
United States

Yael Niv

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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